Breaking Free: A SakuNeji Songfic Collection
by Jennifer Darknight
Summary: This is a collection of related (or unrelated) songfics dedicated to the ever-cute couple of SakuNeji! Ranging from angst to humor, but always sweet and romantic, you only need to come here for your SakuNeji fix! Track three UP!
1. Track one: Night

  
  
Track one: Night

* * *

_When I open the window slightly, the tepid wind slips in_

_ As though it's laughing at my foolish self _

_On this desolate evening I absent-mindedly think that_

_People are things which can endure even agony well enough_

* * *

She was alone again. The night had come again, but this time he wasn't there. He was never there, after all was said and done. She should have known that this would never change, but somehow, deep inside her, she wished that everything would be different. But silly her, she knew that that would never happen. He was always methodical. Never unexpected, and for him to do something unexpected...well...let's just say that that was not in his nature.  
  
She shouldn't have trusted that he would stay. Why would he? She lay there in her bed, dressed in naught but her panties and bra, looking towards the open window, as if to catch a glimpse of him. But no...she never saw it happen. It never did. It was just something she wished for to keep herself from screaming. From crying out and wanting to fall over and die. Her heart lurched, and her body ached.  
  
Why did she have to feel this way? Why couldn't she just accept it?  
  
No. That just wasn't how she was.

* * *

_If love is the only thing connecting us, _

_Just the sign of you... Just the scent of you..._

_

* * *

_  
After Sasuke, who didn't care whether she lived or died, she should have gotten used to it. The kind of treatment that men usually threw her way. Hell, she practically begged for it, and she understood and knew it.  
  
But every time he touched her face, caressed her hair, kissed her deeply...something inside of her would just want to cave in, and tears would want to fall from her eyes. He was so tender, so loving...whenever she closed her eyes she could see his white eyes staring at her, glazed over in ardent passion. She could still smell his musky scent, feel his soft brown tresses against her bare shoulder...and all this was just a few short hours ago.  
  
But...she knew that he wouldn't return. He never did. She'd just wait until the next night, when he would come again.

* * *

_I search for your faint touch, your voice, your unfinished drink_

_ That I was sure you'd left behind_

_ But come up with nothing. _

_Until recently we were in each other's arms,_

_ And I thought we had become united, _

_But like water slipping through my fingers, you vanish without a trace._

_

* * *

_  
She was sure that this was the Turn in their relationship this time. Three years after he had started to see her in the dead of night, three years after Sasuke had turned her down for her best friend, who really wasn't so much her best friend anymore, she thought that this would be the one time. The time when everything would become right. That everything would fall into place.  
  
But like everything else in her life, it wasn't.  
  
She still heard his voice, whispering "I love you," in the dead of the night, moving his lean, muscular body against her own in a dance of lovemaking that no other woman could ever understand but her. He had never said that before. He'd said he cared for her, and that everything was all right, but never that he loved her.  
  
She touched her sheets gingerly, and took them to her face.  
  
She sniffed.  
  
It still smelled just like him. Just like him. His smell still took over her senses, and her head became dizzy with memories and images of love and passion, but...nothing was the same. He was gone. He wasn't there. His presence was strong, but he was not with her physically. Not at all. Just memories, smells, scents, and other things. Like the remnants of his...well, she was not going to go there. She had to get that cleaned up before Naruto came in the morning with Hinata to take her to train, and if they noticed that on her sheets so obviously, they were surely going to ask questions.

* * *

_There's no reason to be afraid of becoming fond of someone._

_You come across your temptuousness for the first time, _

_If we love each other thoroughly, we can even become a tragic legend as we cry. _

_You also see for the first time how unfair you can be._

_

* * *

_  
She doubted that he knew. That he knew what he was doing to her. Maybe she was doing something to him, and he was afraid? Well, that was silly. Him, the great prodigy of the Hyuga Clan, afraid? When did that ever go to someone's mind? If Hinata heard that one, she would have openly denied it, Naruto would have laughed, and TenTen would have been furious due to the fact that Neji was paying attention to someone else instead of her...  
  
But Sakura didn't ask for the attention. Not really. Not at first.  
  
But now...now it was a part of her, a deep area of her being. She had to see him every night, she had to be near him every night. She had to touch him, kiss him, caress him...  
  
She had always believed in true love. Even when most others didn't. She was a very optimistic girl, too. If one loved another, then nothing was meant to be feared. If she was in Neji's place, she wouldn't have come in the dead of night, but proposed in front of everyone on a sunny day. But with Neji, you can't do that. That was entirely against the rules.  
  
She had asked him that once. Why he came to see her at night instead of during the day. He just leaned against her, put his arms around her shoulders, and whispered, "Because I don't want you to live in my world. It would change you."  
  
Sakura, being a smart young woman, understood what that meant, although not at the time. She had known about the Hyuga Clan ever since...well, forever. She had read about it in her books. When one married a Hyuga Clan Branch Family Member, you became a member of the Branch Family, with the Curse Seal and all. The Clan members, according to some accounts, liked to use the spouses of the Branch Family Members to get them to do what the Main House wanted.  
  
But she didn't care about that. She would become a Branch Family Member for him, and Neji probably knew it. Even though he never acted on it. If it was to be with him...she would do anything.  
  
If only he knew just what agony he was putting her heart through!

* * *

_Even though loneliness is the only thing connecting us_

_ Just my emotions... Just my anguish..._

_

* * *

_  
They were kindred Spirits, in a way. They were both hurt, they were both lonely. Although Sakura didn't sneak into the Hyuga Mansion during the night, to make mind-boggling love to him and leave him sitting in the lurch. But then again, she wasn't that type of person. Despite her active appearance, and the influence that Inner Sakura held on her, she was more of a Submissive person. She wasn't the type of girl that took to leadership well.  
  
She wanted him to lead her.  
  
She wanted to tell him everything about how she felt.  
  
Before the sadness in her heart consumed her completely...

* * *

_I want you to please embrace me_

_I don't want you to forget me_

_My feet are caught in the mud with nowhere to go_

_By living and hurting someone _

_I'll get hurt too someday _

_Though I love you and love you, I can't love you enough_

_

* * *

_  
She loved him. She wanted him. It was the most she had ever wanted of anything.  
  
_And to think_, she thought bitterly, _That I had thought that I was in love with Sasuke. Hmph. Even he couldn't get me to feel like this.  
_  
She shivered, and she rubbed her arms for warmth. She wanted his arms around her, holding her, his soft voice whispering in her ear that everything would be all right. Everything...She wanted to feel his tender lips kissing her skin, his hands caressing her. She wanted his warmth, his kisses, his...being.  
  
She wanted to be his. She wanted to be as much to him as he was to her. She wanted to wake up to him every morning, and go to bed with him every night. She wanted to have his children, to grow old with him, to clean his wounds and cook his meals. She wanted to be his day and his night.  
  
But maybe all of that...maybe it wasn't enough for her to want that much out of him. Or maybe it was just too little. She furiously wiped the tears out of her eyes as she huddled there still. She wrapped her blanket around herself, but she still felt cold. Neji's body warmth on it had long since left, so his presence on it wasn't as strong as it was. But she tried to picture him holding her, to imagine him there, at least to keep herself sane.  
  
It wouldn't happen.  
  
It couldn't happen.  
  
Hyuga Neji just wouldn't be hers like that. She could never have him the way she wanted...he was locked in the cage, and although he wanted to eat out of her hand, she didn't have the key to release him from his gold- gilded prison.  
  
But she wanted to find it though.  
  
But maybe...she'd just have to wait until the next night.  
  
Shivering a little, and wiping her tear-stained cheeks, she picked up the blankets of her bed, walking to the laundry room where they would be washed, just like they were every night before she went to sleep again.

* * *

_Until recently we were in each other's arms_

_ And I thought we had confirmed our love_

_ But like water slipping through my fingers, you vanish without a trace _

_I want you to please embrace me_

_ I don't want you to forget me_

_ My feet are caught in the mud with nowhere to go _

_By living and hurting... someone_

_ I'll get hurt... someday _

_Though I love you and love you, I can't love you enough_

_

* * *

_  
She would hurt and be hurt, cry and be made to cry, as Fate laughed at her and her current predicament.  
  
But maybe that was just her fault.  
  
But maybe it wasn't.  
  
She'd find out...someday.

* * *

Owari! I decided to make this one a darker theme, unlike a lot of my others. This Songfic is of the song "Night", by Maaya Sakamoto. I just thought that the depressing tone suited these two with this scenario. Sort of suits them, ne? Well, until next time...  
  
Jen 


	2. Track two: Waiting

Track Two: Waiting

* * *

_Do you have peace as you left on your journey?_

_Sleep, enveloped in silver stardust. _

_On the day you threw away doubt, you were shining. _

_I'm sure if I believe you're here, the sky will unfurl._

* * *

Any time now. Any time now she would return. A certain dark-haired ANBU sat at his kitchen table, looking up at the watch and drumming his fingers on the table where he would usually eat his favorite breakfasts every morning...when he was home, anyway.  
  
Everything was a tizzy for him. Everything was crazy for the past week. Waking up alone, sleeping alone, eating alone, reading alone...it was as if everything that he had experienced before was just a dream, and that he had just returned to his old life, alone and lonely. She was not there with him, and the house was cold and lifeless without her.  
  
He was sure that if she came back in that door in that single moment, his usual stoic mask would crumble and he would transform into a lovesick boy, hugging her for all that she was worth, and begging her not to leave his side ever again.  
  
But what else could he do? This was normal. All ninjas had to deal with their spouses or loves leaving to do life-threatening things, and not only that, but all Hyuga men had to put up with this whenever they wanted to marry a woman outside of the family. It was tradition.  
  
Damn tradition all to hell.  
  
He would love to see his Uncle's face when he shoves a katana down his throat.  
  
And if anything happened to her, that's exactly what he would do.

* * *

_Oh stars, light up with an eternal light,_

_ so as to envelope her, always._

_Oh moon, light up the eternal desert._

_ Please, guide her._

* * *

Whenever you fell in love with a woman outside of the Hyuga Clan, the woman had to go through a series of tests. She had to spend a week alone in the woods outside of Konoha, surrounded by enemies that could kill her at any moment, and would if they got the chance. All of the elder members of the particular house that the woman would enter in would try to down her, every moment of every day. If she died, then she died. But if she survived, then she was worthy to be a part of the Hyuga Clan, and therefore she was allowed to marry her beholden.  
  
It wasn't his choice that made her do this. Actually, she thought it up on her own. And this alone made him even more angry about it. She didn't even tell him. That morning one week before, when he got up from his bed and found her gone, Hinata-sama had explained to him what Sakura had done. Run off and acted like an idiot, following the Hyuga Clan 'tradition'. It took all of his willpower not to punch a hole in the wall of the kitchen right then. Hinata-sama had run out of the Haruno home, but Neji had run behind her, going to the Main House to speak to Uncle Hiashi about this...this...occurrence.  
  
Of course, he was in full support to the idea. Actually, it was he who convinced Sakura to go through with it in the first place. But Neji knew Sakura's skills. She wasn't the strongest ninja in Konoha. She couldn't handle a bunch of Hyugas attacking her. She could hold him off, but if she had to fight about five at once...  
  
He was stupid. He knew that she could take care of herself. He had trained her to be able to do so. But...there was always the chance that he might not see her again. And all for the sake of marrying into the Hyuga family. If it were up to him, he would have become a Haruno, and thrown away his old name, so his own children wouldn't have to deal with the pain that he had when he was young. Never would he let them put up with that.  
  
But Sakura was stubborn. She wanted to become part of his world, his life. Even though his world wasn't the sort of world that anyone wanted to be a part of. It almost broke Hinata-sama. It turned Hanabi-sama into a cold-hearted killer. It turned him into a jaded man who was still picking up the pieces of his broken life. What made Sakura think that she could do much better?  
  
Sakura. Cherry blossom. His little cherry blossom.  
  
He never wanted to see her hurt.  
  
If he could, he'd do Kage Bunshin no Jutsu a thousand times, and send even more of him around her to protect her, as if to shield away any harm during this hardship that she would have to face.  
  
But another side of him, the calmer, less emotional side, had enough respect for her to know that saving her would only hurt her. It would only make her feel weak as an individual. Sakura had been protected enough by her teammates and friends and himself. She wanted to have some sort of time to shine. To show everyone that she was strong. Maybe that was the reason that she accepted the proposal?  
  
All he could do now was pray.  
  
Despite his appearance, he was a very religious person, and he prayed to God that Fate would be kind to his Sakura, and that she would be all right.

* * *

_The sun rises, scorching even the ground._

_ In the cloudless sky, it burns even the heart._

_ Looking for you amid a heatwave that shakes the Gobi,_

_ if I close my eyes and listen closely,_

_ I feel as if I can hear your voice._

* * *

Sakura, if she would have seen him, probably would have told him to stop worrying. And that he was acting like a worrisome old man. That was how she always did it. He could hear her in his head now, speaking words of love and affection, as well as those typical cute phrases that made his heart leap upon hearing them.  
  
"Neji-kuuuuun...come on, stop being so depressing!"  
  
"Ne, ne, Neji...wanna get Ice cream?"  
  
"Come on, Neji! I don't have all day!"  
  
...and the list went on and on. Little things that nobody would understand. Not even others in love could understood how he felt. He could hear her...  
  
If only things weren't so damned difficult.  
  
Damn the Hyuga clan. Damn Sakura. Damn himself for not paying attention and protecting her!  
  
If she didn't get back in once piece, he was going to kill Hiashi. And nobody, NOBODY, could stop him in that endeavor.  
  
But then again, she was perfectly capable of coming back in one piece. But there was that chance, and he didn't like holding onto it, but it was his fear, his rare, but present fear of losing her that kept it there.  
  
He felt his heart, then his face.  
  
His cheeks were wet.  
  
He chuckled to himself.  
  
It was a long time since he'd felt like this. So vulnerable...  
  
If Naruto saw him like this, he would surely laugh his ass off.  
  
But let the dobe laugh.  
  
Neji could care less.

* * *

_I want to grasp the dream with these hands. _

_As if to envelope tomorrow, I want to hold you more. _

_I want to kiss you. _

_Tired of waiting for the day we can meet_

_ Tired of waiting for the day we can meet  
_

* * *

But somewhere inside him, he knew that she would come back alive. She had to. If she didn't, where would he stand? Where would Ino and Hinata- sama be, without their precious friend? But he didn't want to wait anymore. He wanted to scoop her up in his arms right then, hugging her tightly and telling her that he loved her a thousand times. Anything to let her know that she had been missed.  
  
All those nights alone, all those moments without her...he didn't want to think of them. He didn't want to be alone. Not at all.  
  
For the tenth time in five minutes, he activated his Byakugan. She had to be coming...she had to. She couldn't be lying dead in the forest somewhere. That just...  
  
Wait. He saw something.  
  
A flash of pink. The sparkle of green eyes. The red of a simple dress.  
  
His Byakugan had to be deceiving him. He checked again, and it was the same, only it came closer.  
  
His heart seemed to want to jump out of his chest. The pieces of his heart...they felt like they were coming together, and everything seemed brighter. The walls didn't look so drab anymore (They looked worse before Sakura had left...but while she was gone his cleanliness obsession took over and he scrubbed the entire house clean), and the frog statue on the kitchen table looked so beautiful, he thought about kissing it for a moment. But then he recoiled. Ew. Naruto touched that—and who knows where that idiot has been. He wanted to run out there right now...but he didn't. He couldn't bring himself to just run out there and greet her.  
  
That was what Naruto did with Hinata-sama.  
  
That was what Sasuke did with Ino.  
  
But Neji didn't do that with his Sakura.  
  
He just sat there, and waited.  
  
After all, he'd been doing that for an entire week.  
  
He could wait two or three minutes, couldn't he?  
  
It was time to put his self-control to the test.

* * *

_I want to grasp the dream with these hands._

_ As if to envelope tomorrow, I want to hold you more. _

_I want to kiss you. _

_Tired of waiting for the day we can meet _

_Tired of waiting for the day we can meet_

* * *

Owari! This one's from the song "Eternal Light" from Fushigi Yuugi. The last one was a depressing, angsty Sakura one. Now this one is with Neji, with an angsty-ish story but a not so angsty ending. I love happy endings—I can never seem to like writing anything else. Maybe that's because I'm just a romance nut. Until next time!  
  
Jen 


	3. Track Three: A Maiden's Goal

_ ** Track Three: A Maiden's Goal**_

* * *

_There are painful times when I can't go on doing my best, _

_Clear, later on rain, later on cloudy._

_ It's an automatic weather station.  
_

* * *

She could feel the blood running down her hands with each blow to the stump. One. Two. Three. Each strike became stronger still, but she could feel it tear into her, leaving painful masses of nerves and skin and muscle that shouldn't even be a part of a woman's body due to its ugliness.  
Her legs hurt.  
Her arms hurt.  
Hell, all of her limbs wanted to fall off.  
She wiped the tears stubbornly from her eyes, and continued striking at the dummy. This is what she needed, after all. A little bit of pain never hurt anyone. God knew that Sasuke and Naruto went through enough trying to protect her all the time during missions, just because she couldn't take care of herself.  
Things just weren't going her way. Not ever since she started these morning training sessions. Waking up at the crack of dawn, working her body into a pile of meat, then going home and tending to her wounds before going about her daily life. Ino-chan had asked many times what was wrong with her hands, always wrapped up in bandages, but Sakura just smiled.  
The pain didn't matter.  
When she thought about him, she didn't even feel it.

* * *

_A little problem has a weak place _

_But, everyone is stronger when in love!_

* * *

Love. At first that word was a silly thing. A pointless crush on an unattainable boy, who would only go after someone more suitable anyway once he got old enough. She knew that she wouldn't be 'the one' for him. It was rather obvious in the way he ignored her, and treated her. It was hard to say what she was going through at the time. Heck, she didn't know herself.  
But Fate had a way of spinning things around and slapping you in the face.  
Ugh. She was starting to sound like that...that...jerk!  
That white-eyed asshole who she just so happened to be in love with.  
And who just so happened to be in love with her.  
Okay, to put it simply, they were an item.  
Well...kind of.  
It was hard to tell with Neji. His eyes were excellent at hiding emotions, and no matter how hard she tried to read him, she would fail miserably, tripping and falling over her own feet and messing everything up in the process. So much for being the biggest brain-child in your Academy year. She'd have to hire ten college professors just to even try to figure this guy out. He was always cold and methodical, and insulted her when he wanted her to do better. But then, out of the blue, he'd come up with this sweet, endearing remark and have the cutest blush on his face that anyone has ever seen.  
Maybe this was what true love did to someone. Made them different from what they were normally like, and changed them for the better. Or worse. Depending.  
Sakura...well...it was hard to say. She had definitely changed, though.  
She had an unending desire to get stronger. And you know, she acted on it, unlike when she was young, and just wanted and yearned. Now...she tried to get strong.  
She wanted to be strong enough to protect herself. To protect others. Not only to make him happy, but to allow herself to be looked upon as a greater Ninja.  
But...mostly to make him happy.  
She wanted to see him smile widely, see his sparkling eyes, and hear him tell her of her progress.  
Oh RIGHT. Like that would ever happen. If that happened, then Naruto hated Ramen and wanted Hinata to marry Kiba. And neither were very likely since Naruto ate ramen every single day, and Hinata had been his wife for several months now. Neji still hadn't adapted to the idea, but he'd soon get over it, just like he got over everything else.  
But still...  
To think they were once rivals. Well, in a one-sided rivalry.  
Every morning she had woken up and went to the forest, even though she knew it was Hyuga property (like she cared—Hinata gave her free reign to the forest anyway, since Sakura and Naruto were borderline brother and sister), and sat down there, feeling the breeze on her face and hearing the wind whisper in her ear. She liked the forest and its calm—it was probably one of the only places in the village she could get some peace and quiet.  
But then Neji would come in like a silent hurricane, throwing her out of her peaceful state and say something quippy and witty to try to get her to leave. Sakura would then throw something back at him, and he'd throw something back at her. And then it would continue until she got so mad that she'd have to go before she tried to rip Neji's ever-so-handsome head off his shoulders. Not like she could. He was much stronger than her anyway.  
And they did that for months. Just insulting each other. But then...it grew into something...a little more. Neji's comments became more...well...provocative. And Sakura began to go along with the phrases and say some things of her own.  
And then...BAM. It happened. No prior warning before the storm came. It just...came.  
And now she was in love with the biggest ass in Konoha, save Sasuke (though she and him are still very close...she can't deny the fact that he's a major ass). And she couldn't do a damned thing about it.  
Oh joy.  
But maybe it was a good thing...no, she knew that it was a good thing.  
Gah! This wasn't the time for reminiscing! She needed to be training!

* * *

_Don't worry about it._

_It doesn't matter._

_To chase a dream, I'll show you I can protect your back_

_You can forget it. _

_It doesn't matter._

_Only your heart I want near me _

_While my heart beats strongly for you_

* * *

But still...  
Only him, huh? Wasn't that what Hinata always said when she talked about Naruto? Only for him did she want to better herself, and make everything bright. Soon she'd be saying that about her children too, and her children's children. Hinata would make a good mother, Sakura was sure of it.  
But it was true. Damn it, it was true. She had wanted to think that after Sasuke she lost her selfless ways of loving people. She wanted to think that she thought of herself more often. But she was just fooling herself when she said things like that. The truth was, she wanted to do it only for him. To show that she was more capable than any other female in the village, to show that she could protect her teammates instead of being the one that needed protection.  
She was doing pretty decently so far, she thought. Well, at least with gaining more stamina and moving faster. She was unsure about her hands, though. By the end of this grueling training session they would probably be useless husks of skin that she would have to amputate due to overuse. That would be a funny sight. She'd just be a girl with two lumps for arms, and she couldn't throw kunai anymore. And when Sasuke asked her why she lost her hands, she could just say, "Neji made me do it." And feel better.  
After all, even if she did love him...she could still resent him every now and then. Stupid pompous asshole.  
"Ugh...Neji...this is all your goddamn fault!!!"  
She screamed that as she laid one hard punch to the stump, and she could feel a scab open, and blood ooze down her white hand.  
"Why must it be my fault that you beat yourself up, Haruno? Why can't you just admit that you are making yourself out to be a masochist?"

* * *

_A button had started to come off a shirt I want to wear_

_Rattling inside a suitcase instantly becomes a sewing case_

* * *

Sakura's face flamed, and she inwardly cursed herself as the Hyuga branch member walked towards her with his usual cocky smirk. He never called her by her real name, so it didn't sting her when he just simply called her 'Haruno'. But damn it...did he have to act like that all the time?!  
Who did he think she was doing this for anyway?!  
Neji stopped in front of her, his face still in the same expression, and he leaned forward. Sakura almost yelped, but his soft white hand touched her face, cupping it in it. Pink spread more cleanly across her features, and her heart raced even more than before. Calm down...calm down your stupid hormones, girl...  
He coughed a little bit.  
"Hmph. You look like shit, Haruno."  
Sakura winced at the insult, but bore it. He was simply stating what was on his mind—and with the mud staining her face and the blood trickling down her body, she really did look like shit. She couldn't blame him for saying so.  
"Thanks for saying so, Neji-_sama_."  
Neji's eyes lowered a bit.  
"Was that sarcasm?"  
"What the hell do you think?"

* * *

_If it's with everyone, a lot of eyes make a fuss_

_ But it's good. It's just us. We won't say anything._

* * *

Neji's lips had then lowered towards hers, and captured her in a hungry, possessive kiss. He had done it numerous times, but she still had her breath taken away every time he did it, and her heart would still hammer in her chest whenever his hands would run up and down her sides in an achingly slow motion before going to massage her scalp. Her face reddened as she kissed him back with an equally possessive motion, Inner Sakura screaming out in joy as she held him close.  
Then, just when she was really starting to get into it, his lips went away from hers, and he just held her close to him.  
He didn't say anything.  
But he didn't really need to.  
Words would just break the spell.  
And that was the last thing she wanted.  
She could feel his warmth as he held her. She sighed softly, and leaned against him with a small smile on her face. Again, the pain in her hands were forgotten, and there was only him there.  
THIS was why she wanted to become stronger. This was why she fought so hard. So hard to change.  
His arms tightened around her, and hugged her closer. She didn't have to look at him to know that he was blushing. He was so cute like that. So sweet...sometimes she would forget that he was a proud Anbu, and would suddenly believe that he was a vulnerable little boy. With the looks that he would give the rest of the world, that should have been something that was impossible to perceive, but in Haruno Sakura's eyes, he really was a child looking for attention, and starving for affection.  
But she wouldn't have him any other way. If her Neji was any different than he was now, things would be wrong, and then there would be problems.  
Then again, wasn't that why she didn't want to be with Sasuke?  
Because he didn't change?  
Well, with some people...you don't want them to change. You always want them to stay the same. If Neji changed, then...  
Although it would be nice if he'd say something to everyone else about them. He wouldn't say anything to the others about their relationship, and Sakura was obligated to keep it a secret as well. But keep it a secret from who? From Sasuke? What could that ass do to her that he hasn't already done emotionally? No skin off her back if he found out. Besides, he was probably gay, from the looks of things. He probably wanted to go out with Naruto, and was jealous of Hinata-chan for marrying him. Now that would have been pretty funny. She half-expected him to barge into Naruto's wedding and yell his objection at the top of his voice, instead of being there on time and being there as Naruto's best man(Naruto decided that a Western Wedding was in order).  
Luckily for Sasuke's heart he didn't. If he did, Naruto would have given him the wake-up call of his life. It would have been funny, though. That was for sure.  
But secrecy? Come on. Who was possibly going to take offense? Hinata would have been thrilled, Ino already knew (Sakura slipped once, but Ino- chan kept her side of the bargain and kept it a secret from everyone—even her constant confidante, Shikamaru), Naruto would have been shocked but happy, and her parents would have been proud of her for snagging someone out of a rich family.  
Oh well. If it's what he wanted...

* * *

_Though my desire is distant, I won't give up to anyone _

_The urge to say "I love you" is somewhat strange_

* * *

She looked at him with soft green eyes, and her heart raced faster and faster as his white eyes scrutinized her in a way she didn't really understand. It was his habit—every single time they were alone, he'd just look at her like that. His eyes were soft, yet hard. They were dreamy, yet cold with realism. Those Byakugan eyes were just one set of oxymorons, those of which were impossible to get, just like the man who was watching her.  
It was in these moments that she really couldn't say anything. She couldn't do anything. Just stare into the young man's eyes with a racing heart and pink face. Those white eyes, that handsome face...they both took her breath away, every single time she did it. Inner Sakura crooned and primped herself up in the attention that Neji was giving her, as well as giving her some ideas of what she could do if she took advantage of this sweet silence.  
But all of those comments were too dirty to be written. Not only that, but despite her previous obsession over Sasuke, and her sometimes rebellious nature (as well as her latent ability to keep up with Naruto's newfound perverted humor), she was still a lady.  
And this lady was so tempted to take Hyuga Neji into the nearest house and screw him senseless, it wasn't even funny.  
But why talk about her feelings right now? Why say something when she didn't need to? That was the charm of it all, wasn't it? Sakura seemed to think so.  
Neji stepped back, and turned away slightly. He was looking over towards the bloodied practice dummy, on which some of Sakura's dried skin was still hanging. She pitied the poor fool who used that thing next—they would probably get an infection to last them the rest of their lives with the amount of blood and dirt that caked it. She wouldn't be surprised if she had an infection that would cause her arms to get cut off.  
He then turned back to her, and looked down towards her hands. It was funny how he could just stand there and look at her hands with such calm complacency, when Naruto, Lee, or even Shikamaru (well...not so much him—Ino was the one who did all the worrying out of the two of them) would go to their lovers' side in outward concern—almost borderline paranoia. Neji would do nothing like that. He would just put his hand on her shoulder and look her up and down, before leading her with such calmness that it was almost insulting to either his house or the hospital, depending on how bad her injuries were.  
This time, it was most likely the Hyuga residence. It wasn't a life- threatening experience, and it was common knowledge that Neji didn't trust doctors as much as he had to (what with all the trips that he had to take to the hospital in the past).  
When his hand touched her shoulder, something clicked, and when he looked over toward her with that strange, unreadable look in his eyes, she didn't want this to be any other way.  
If it was, it would be just wrong.

* * *

_Don't worry about it._

_ It doesn't matter_

_ I cannot do it all with just love._

_ I want to wrap it _

_You can forget about it._

_ It doesn't matter_

_ While An Angel's heart is always beating strongly for you_

_ Don't worry about it._

_ It doesn't matter. _

_To chase a dream, I'll show you I can protect your back _

_You can forget it. _

_It doesn't matter. _

_Only your heart I want near me_

_ While my heart beats strongly for you_

* * *

This was why she tried so hard to be stronger. As she glanced at him again from the corner of her eye, she smiled. It was what she always wanted, wasn't it? To have someone there, to support her in his own little way.  
  
And she herself would prove herself to him. In her own little way.  
  
After all, that's what love did to someone, didn't it?

* * *

Wow! I'm done! This one took a while! I'm surprised I got it out on time! Anyway, this one is to the song "Tokimeki Nagara For You" from Wedding Peach. I hope you love reading it as much (no, more) as I did writing it! Peace out, yo.  
  
Jenn-chan 


End file.
